Machine for soldering the cap ends of cans.



G. H. AYARS. MAGHINEIFOR SOLDERING THE GAP ENDS 0F CANS.

AAPYLIU'I'ION' FILED 00T. 27, 1909. 9611,74. Patented June 14, 1910.

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C.'H.AYARS; MACHINE FOB. 4801111111111111 THE GAP ENDS 0F DANS,

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 27, 1909. 961,743, Patented June 14, 1910.

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H. AYARS, OF SALEM, NEVV JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 AYARS MACHINE COM- PANY, OF SALEM, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW' JERSEY.

MACHINE FOR SOLDERING THE CAP ENDS OF'OANS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 14, 191.

Application filed October 27, 1909. Serial No. 524,781.

To'alljxwhcm it may concern:

Be itknown that I, CHARLES citizen of the United States, residing at Salem, in the county of Salem and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Soldering the Cap Ends of Cans, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for soldering can caps and has particular reference to an improved mechanism for soldering and closing the vent-holes in such caps.

v One object of the provide an improved means for supporting and moving the soldering or tipping iron so that the latter may have a movement that will cause it to meet and travel with the can and to then reverse its movement and return H. AYARS, a

to meet other cans,-the latter being conveyed during the soldering` operation.

Another object is to provide an improved construction and arrangement of solder feed mechanism whereby the amount of solder to be fed may be regulated to a nicety and further that solder may be fed only when a can is in position to be'operated upon.

A further object is to provide a construction wherein the solder feed and the iron will together move back and forth over the traveling cans and by thus maintaining them in a given relation materially increase their etliciencyand enable the iron to be operated at a lower temperature andthe life of the latter prolonged.

lVith these and other objects in view the accompanying drawings .illustrate the invention lwherein,- M

Figure l, is a side elevation of a can conveying mechanism and the improved means for operating the iron. Fig. 2, an enlarged cross-sectional elevation of the same and also from one side Fig. 3, a similar view as seen side. Fig. 4, is a vertical sectional view on the line 1l-4 of Fig. El, and shows the adjustable bracket or support that carries the iron and .solder feed, and Fig. 5, is a diagrammatic View of the can conveyor seats with cans thereon and illustrates the direction of movement of the iron with respect to the cans.

The present invention is operated in connection with other machinery employed in the packing art such for example as a capping machine which receives of the-latter. from the opposite designed to be present invention is to' the caps over the iilling opening of the cans and which caps contain the vent holes to be soldered or tipped, and it is desirable that the cans be conveyed from the capper to the tipper without manual handling. W ith this understanding the numeral, l, in the drawings designates a conveyer of any suitable construction, but which in the present instance consists of a plurality of circular disks or can seats, 2, which travel in a horizontal plane while sustaining the cans with their cap-ends uppermost. This conveyer is of such construction that the cans are moved forward continuously and are spaced apart at uniform intervals. ln the present instance l provide a swinging bracket. 3, adjacent the conveyer which is pivotally mounted'on a suitable support or rod, Ll, from which it hangs pendently, and the lower end of this bracket has a block or head, 5, rigidly connected therewith for a purpose presently to be described.

A. driving shaft, 6, supported and driven in any suitable manner, extends horizontall)T at one side of the swinging bracket support, 3, and an eccentric, T, is provided on said shaft by means ot' which motion is to be imparted to the iron. T he driving shaft, may obviously be carried `by and c'lriven from the capper machine proper, or if desired. may be independently driven.

bar, 8, is connected at one end to the eccentric, 7, and extends therefrom and past. the swinging bracket support, 3, and said bar is pivotally connected to the. block or head, 5, of said bracket support by means of a pivotpin, 9, so that it may have a rocking movement with respect to the support as it is reciprocated by the eccentric. Beyond the support, the bar inclines upwardly as at 10, so as to extend from the lower to the upper side of the conveyor and has a horizontallyextending end, 1l, located in the present instance at one side of the conveyer and row of cans. Suitable side rails or guides, 1Q., are provid ed at opposite sides of the cans to pre'- vent lateral displacement of the Same from the conveyer as they advance.'

It will be understood that as the eccentric turns with the shaft, 6, the bar, 8, will be reciprocated longitudinally, and by means of the pivoted connection with t-heswinging bracket support, 8, the end, 11, of the bar will have both a reciprocating and a rocking motion,-that is, it will be raised and lowtube, 23, is provided with longitudinal slots,

, with respectto each other and said leveris lthrough which a heating agent, such as gas,

vand has one end, 24, terminating adjacent,

ered as it reciprocates. This motion is esj pecially adapted for the purpose of raising the soldering iron from the can; then returning it, while raised, to meet another can, and finally to lower the iron onto the can thus met. 4

By reference to Figs. 2, 3 and 4 it will be noted that the free end of the bai", 8, sustains a vertical bracket, 13, t-he lower end of which is ladjustably connected to t-he said bar by means of slots, 14, and set bolts, 15, for a purpose presently to be explained. This bracket serves tosustain the soldering iron and also the solder supporting mechanism so that they may be maintained in a delinite relation with respect' to each other during their movements back and forth over' the cans.

In the present instance, a tube, 16, extends through a suitable perforation at theupper end of the bracket, 13, and is adjustable longitudinally therein by means of a set screw, 17, and one end of said tube carries a chambered head, 18, while the opposite end thereof is connected to a flexible tube,19,

.is supplied to the chambered head, 18, where it is ignited to heat the iron, 20, which depends therefrom so that its lower soldering end, 21, may be maintained in a centered position over the cap-endsof the cans, 22. Obviously the tube, 16, may be moved longi' tudinally with respect to the bracket, 13, to accurately center the iron over the cans whenever a change from one size can to anotherv is made. A solder-guide tube, 23, is also sustained by the vertical bracket, 13,

and preferably in close proximity to the soldering end, 21, of the iron, so that the end of wire solder, 25, which passes through the tube may be directed against the iron near the working end thereof. The solder-guide 26 and 27, at diametrically opposite sides so that suitable solder-feed devices may operate on the strand of solder and feed it forward through the tube to the iron. While this feed mechanism may vary in the details of construction I have found the form shown to be practical and by reference to Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawing will describe the same. An arm, 28, extends laterally from the vertical bracket, 13, and in the'present instance carries a revoluble member such as a roller or disk, 29, which turns on a pivot, 30, in a' vertical plane and the lower circumferential edge of which projects into the slots 26, lof the solder tube and against the upper surface of the wire solder strand. A lever, 31, has a long inclined arm, 32, and a shorter depending arm, 33, which extend at an angle pivotally attached at 34 to the arm, 28. The ylong arm, 32, projects over the tops of the solderally sustained therefrom at` appoint-.between 37, respectively. The

and be supported by the can as the bracket,

13, and iron, 20, lower to bring the iron -in'to operative position on4 the can top. The shorter de nding arm, 33, projects below fbeed tube and apawl, 35, is'pivot' its two ends, 36 and end, 36, of this vpawl projects ,upwardly and l enters the slot, 27, in the solder tube and impinges against the lowerj' surface of 7"the wire-v solder strand, while the end, 37, is weighted so as to keep the with the solder.

point end engagement It is to be understood that as the lever,31f,

is carried indirectly by the vertical bracket,

13, and the iron and solder tube are also car-l ried by the same-bracket, all of said devices will be reciprocated together with respect'to the conveyer, but as the lever, 31, is pivoted with respect to the said bracket, the latter may descend after the end, 32, of said lever seats on a can and by this further movement of the bracket, the arm, '33, will swing toward the said bracket and thus move the pawl, more or less, lengthwise of the slot, 27, and thus push the solder forward through the tube toward the iron. It will thus be seen that the feeding of solder tothe iron is accomplished as the latter is centering over the can end and just at the time the solder is needed.

The stroke or movement of the lever, 31, and feed pawl, 35, may be varied to regulate the quantity of solder to be fed for each can cap as can be readily seen inV Figs. 3 and 4 wherein the bracket, 13, is shown as having a side lug, 38, which projects laterally from the bracket beneath' the inclined arm, 32. A set-screw, 39, passes through said lug and forms a stop on which the arm rests and by this means the downward movement of the arm, 32, and the rearward movement of the arm, 33, and pawl end, 36, may be varied. A spring, 40, draws down continuously on the arm, 32, but will yield when the vertical bracket, 13, descends while the arm, 32, is resting upon a can end.

The rear end of the solder-feed tube is provided with a depending arm or lug, 41, while in front of said lug the tube is provided with a longitudinal slot, 42, along its under side. A pawl, 43, is pivotally mounted onvthe lug and has a point-end, 44,'.that enters the slot and engages the strand of solder. otherl end of the pawl to'keep the point-end against the solder. The purpose ofthis pawl, 43, is to hold the solder strand while the lfeed pawl,'35, is making its return movenient to take a fresh bite on the solder.A

It is to be understood `that the bar, 8, `may carry a plurality of brackets, 13, at its end, 11, or one bracket may carry a plurality of irons so that instead of operating on one can at a time a plurality of cans maybe soldered at. one time.

By means of the present invention the feed of solder may be adjusted or regulated to a nicety and by a simple turn of the screw, 39; the solder and tube both traveling with the iron while maintained in the same relation prevents the splashing of solder as occurs Where the iron andtube have movement with respect to each other, and also enables the solder to be. melted by the iron during the return operation. This fixed relation of iron and solder also effects a saving in the fuel because the temperature of the iron need not be so great as ample time is given on the return movement for the iron at a lowertemperature to melt the solder. A further practical advantage is that of speed which has been increased lifty per cent. by maintaining the iron and solder in fixed relation. l

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s-- l. The combination'with meansto move the cans. of a soldering iron; a solder support and means for moving the iron and solder support in one direction with the cans and then reverse the movement of both iron and solder supportto meet other cans.

Q. The combination with means to move the cans forward, of a soldering iron; a

solder guide having a fixed relation to the iron and means for moving both iron and guide forward with the cans during the soldering operation and then'moving both the iron and guide backward to meet other cans.

3. The combination with means to move the cans, of a soldering iron ;l a solder guide adjacent the iron; means` for feeding solder to the guide; means for moving the iron and solder guide in one direction with the cans and means for raising the iron and solder guide from the -ans and returning them to lneetother cans.

4. The combination with means to move cans, of a soldering iron maintained in a pendent position above the can-moving means; a solder guide adjacent the iron and means for moving the pendent iron and solder guide ina straight line with the cans and return them to meet other cans. j

5. The combination with means to move the cans in a row, of a soldering iron sustained in a pendent position above the canmoving means; a solder guide tube extending toward the iron; means for feeding the solder through said tube, and means .for reciprocating the tube and iron back andforth abovethe can-moving means.

6. The combination with means to move Athe cans, of a support at one side of the can-moving means; a soldering iron sustained from said support and having a pendent position over the said moving means; a solder-feed 'tube also sustainedfrom said support and projecting toward the iron, and meansl for reciprocating the support, iron and tube with respect to the moving means. i i". The combina-tion with means to move the cans, of a support; a soldering iron sustained by the support; a solder-feed tube also sustainedby the support; a bar extending parallel 'with the can-moving means, -7 and means for reciprocating the bar, support, iron and tube with respect to the canmoving means. l

8. The combination with means to move the cans, of a soldering iro-n; a solder-fers?.- tub'e having a fixed relation with respect to the iron; a solder-feed mechanism, and means for first moving the iron and tube with the can moving means and then reversing the movement oft-he said iron and tube with respect to the moving means.

9. The combination with means to move" the cans, of a support; a soldering iron carried by the support; a solder-feed tube also carried by the support; a solder-feed mechanism carried by the support, and means for reciprocating the support back and forth with respect to the moving means.

10. The combination With means to move the cans, of a support at one side thereof; 95 a solderingiron carried by the support; a bar connected with the support, and .means for reciprocating the bar longitudinally and moving the support and iron back and forth.

1l. rllhe combination with means to move 100 the cans, of a support at one side thereof; a

soldering iron carried by the support; a bar connected with the support; means adjacent one end of the bar for j reciprocating the same and means for rocking the supportand iron while they are reciprocated by the bar. 12. The combination with means to Inove the cans, of a support at one side thereof; a soldering iron carried by the support; a` bar sustained between its ends so as to swing longitudinally and connected with the support and means for swinging the bar.

13. The combination with means to move the cans, of a support at one side thereof; a soldering iron lcarried by the support; a bar sustained between its ends so as to swing longitudinally and having its forward end connected with the support and a revoluble member at the other end of the bar to reciprocate the latter longitudinally. 120

14. The combination with means to move the cans, of a support at one side thereof; a soldering iron carried by the support; a bar. having rits forward end yconnected With the s`upport; a swinging bracket for pivotally sustaining the bar between its ends and an eccentric at the other end of the bar for moving the same longitudinally. 15. The combination With means to move the cans, of a soldering iron; a solder-feed tube having a slot; feed mechanism operating through. the slot to feed the solder and means vfor moving the iron, tube and feed mechanism together back and forth over the cans..

16. The combination with means to move the cans,`of-a soldering iron; a solderfeed tube Ahaving a slot; a movable-device projecting into said tube slot to engage the solder; means operated by -a can to aetuate themovable dev-ice and means for moving the iron and tube back and forth so ,as to travel with a can and return to meet other cans.

17, Thecombniation with means to move thel cans, of a soldering iron; a solder-feed tube having slots at opposite sides; a pawl prJecting through one of said slots; a roltary member projecting through the other slot.; lever mechanism operated by the cans for'actuating the saidy pawl and means for moving the iron, tube, rotary member and port and projecting into the path of the f cans; a pawl carried by said lever and entering one of said slots; means operating through the other slot of the tube .to prevent the backward movement of lthe solder and means for moving the iron, tube, lever and pawl back and forth over the can moving means.

In testimony 'whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two .vitnesses.

CHARLES H. AYARS.

1V itnesses I'. OAKFonD Ao'roN, MARY l). BANKS. 

